Spiral swing



Dec. 25, 1934. c K; A 5 1,985,497

SPIRAL SWING Filed Dec 12, 1955 W|TNE55 INVENTOR C/are/zce K HQ/P/S.

I QA-IZTORNEY x Patented Dec. 25, 1934 g, V FS'P'IRAL v Clarence K. Harris,"Marion',Q0 hio v ApplicationDecember 12,19 33, Serial nogiozms 11 Claims. -(o1. era-es) I v My invention relatesto play and exercise equine-ff e t depending cylindrical portion 25 fittin closely ment and particularly to spiral swings. in the upper-endof pipe19, whic h upper end may: An object of my invention isto provide a spiral be providedwith a-recess 27 to receive a proiecgswing that shall belso constructed that it can tion.29 oncap 23 so that the cap will he -prevented i5. be kept in continuous cyclic operation.

Another object of my invention is to provide end portion of member 23 may be-made of lozenge a spiral swing that shall have relatively fewparts shape, as is shownin-Fig. 2 of ;the drawing, and and be easily manufactured and set up for operbe provided with two inclined openings 31 and 33- ation. spaced apart from each other sufficiently so that from turning relatively to the pipe. The upper 5;

10. Other objects of my invention'will either be their lower endswillbe ,outsideof the standard-19. 10.

apparent from the description of one embodiment A rotatable platform or cross bar 35 is in the of my invention'now preferred by me or will be, shape of a board or plank, the outer ends of which speeifically'pointed out hereinafter. extend beyond the base. While} have described In practicing my invention, 1 provide a base, theplatform 35 as being a plank I do not wish to a vertically extending standard thereon, a. platbe restricted thereto as I may use any other form 15::

standard, anda rope or cable to support the plat-.1 inaiter; The outer ends of the :cross bar .35 are form from the top of the standard. I provide longitudinally slotted as'shown at 3'7 and seats 39v a pair of lever armspivotally mounted on the for, riders areadjust bly mounted on thecross platform near, the respective ends thereof, each bar 35,near the outer ends-thereof. I have shown 20,

lever arm having a shorter portion located below an; adjusting and: clamping means in the form of form or cross bar slidable and turnable on the of platform as will be morefully pointed out'herethe platform and a longer portion thereof located abolt, alcand awing-nut1 43,thereon-extending above the platform. The ends of the cable are through a seat-39and one, of thegslots in the connected to the lever arms intermediate their cross bar:35. I-may also provideapin 45 spaced ds b t abOV h pl A m m r of 00116 from the bolt '41 :so as to maintain the seat 39in 25. Shape is located on the Sta a lo l pper. its proper operativeposition on-the crossbar ,35' end thereof. near one end thereofj after its position has once In the single sheet of drawing, 1 been adjusted, It is obvious that the adjustable Figure 1 is a View, in Side. elevation; of a do featured the seatswill make itteasy to operate ice embodying my in certain Portions: myplayand exercisedevice in a proper manner 30 thereof being shown in section, even if the weightofthe players be different one Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in. fromtm m 1; I i r Fig. 1, v 1 .Thecross barp is further provided at asuit- 3 is a View in. 8116' Elevation, fi p y able pointintermediate its outer ends and its mid- 35 of the device, and; v Q portion with recesses .49, which may be of sub- 35 Fig. 4 is a view mainly in vertic l ti n stantially rectangular shape and. extend longit u t D thesfandardi tudinally thereof. -A bearing member 51-is suit- My. device embodies a ba Which m y IL-L ably secured to athe. iundercside of the cross bar sist of two crossed bars 1 a d th m p at each one of the recesses 49fa'nd is so construct- 40 tions thereof interfitting with each o e h ed that a laterally extending pivot'ping53zmay be 40 outer ends of each ar bein pr vid d with spacer located therein and ,held'thereby; On this pivot blocks 15. A metal plate 17, which may be of pin there is mounted a lever arm 55 and it is to Suitable shape and dimensions may be provid d be understood that two such leverv arms are proat the intersection of the two bars 11 and 13 and vided, as isclearly shown in Fig. 1 0f the drawbe secured thereto in order to strengthen the'base. ing; Astirrup orfootb'ar 57 is provided for each 45 A vertically extending standard 19 in the form lever arm 55 and is secured thereto at the lower of a pipe is fixedly supported by the base at the end. thereof. I wish to point out particularly that intersection of the bars 11 and 13 and forthis the pivot pin 53-extends through the lever arm purpose an annular flanged member 21 may ex-- 55 at a point intermediate the ends of the lever tend through the plate 1'? and the bars 11 and 13, arm, and that the shorter portion of the length 50 and be secured thereto in any desired manner, of each lever arm is located below the cross bar the primary obj ectbeing to hold the standard 19 35, while the-greater portion of the length of each in a substantially vertical upright position. lever arm is located above the cross bar. I 1 A capmember 23 is located at the top of the provide apair ofshort handropes59, the mid;- standard 19. "Ihe cap member is provided with portion of a single rope being fixedly connected to 55 an eye bolt 61 connected or secured to the upper end of lever arm 55. It may be pointed out here that bar 57 is to be engaged by the feet of a player sitting on a seat adjacent to the lever arm,

while the ropes 59 are to be grasped by the hands 1 35 from the top of the standard may comprise a' cable or rope 67, the midportion of which engages the cap member 23 and extending throughthe respective openings 31 and 33' therein or individual lengths of ropes may be used, the upper ends of which are secured to hooks at the top of the standard. The ends of the rope or cable are suitably secured to the respective lever arms 55 at a point intermediate theends thereof, but above the cross bar 35. Such connection may be made by meansof an eye bolt 69 and a cooperating nut 71 thereon.

I provide also a'member 73 of cone shape on the standard 19 immediately below the upper end thereof, and the member 73 is held in a fixed position on the standard 19 by a pin 75. The purpose of this member will be more fully described hereafter. U

The object of players seated on the seats 39 at the ends of cross bar 35 is to maintain a rotary motion of the platform 35 first in one direction, whereby the rope or cable 67 is wound spirally around the upper end of standard 19 and on the cone 73, the platform-being raised vertically upwardly thereby, and then in the other direction whereby the cable is'unwound and the platform moves vertically downwardly on the standard. To accomplish this object and to start the operation of the device the players will first walk the cross bar 35 several times around the standard 19 and will then quickly mount their respective seats using the stirrups 57, after which they immediately grasp the hand ropes 59 pulling thereon and simultaneously pushingon the stirrups 57 so that the lever arms 55 will tend to move pivotally on the cross bar 35 with the upper ends thereof mov ing outwardly. This movement of the two lever arms will cause the horizontal cross bar 35 and the riders to rise a small distance vertically upwardly, thereby increasing the potential energy of the moving parts of the device. The rotative movement of bar 35- and its vertical upward movement continue but with a decreasing speed.

Therope is first wound spirally around the extreme upper end of the standard and then around the member 73 of cone shape; The retarding action on the moving parts is slightly increased by the use of the cone shaped member 73 as it increases the radius of the part around which the rope is wound. The use of the cone shaped member also has the result that a greater length of rope is wound up foreach completeturn of the platform 35 and that the platform is raised through a greater distance than at the beginning per complete turn of the rope around the standard.

The cross bar 35 will come to a momentary stop and will then immediately begin to rotate in the other direction to unwind the rope. The cone shaped member then acts to increase the accelerating force during the initial moments of reverse operation, that is when the rope begins to unwind so that the platform 35 rotates rapidly very soon after starting to turn to unwind the rope.

The horizontal bar 35 and the riders thereon will now turn around the standard 19 in a direction opposite to that in which they were turning before, so that as stated above the rope 6'7 is unwound from the cone shaped member 73 and the standard '19., I It" is to be understood that the riders have held-the lever arms 55 in'their outermost position, as is shown more particularly by the broken lines in Fig. 1 of the drawing, which may be considered as showing the position of the rope, the lever arms, and the horizontal bar at theinstant of momentary cessation of motion.

. The rotary movement of the bar 35 will of course increase as the rope is unwound and the cross bar- 35is lowered relatively to the standard ,19. At the instant when the cross bar 35 reaches its lowermost position'with" the lever arms 55 in their adjusted position, that is with the upper ends outwardly as shown by the broken lines, the lever arms 55 are released by the riders so that they will momentarily take the positions substantially as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing. This decreases the angle between the cable and the standard and at the same time decreases the strain in the cable. This variation in the angles of support and the differences in the strain in the cable has been found to ,be fully sufficient to completely rewind the cable upon the standard in the same direction as was firstdescribed. ,It is to be noted also that a certain amount of the potential energy stored in the moving system'was' released by the releaseof the lever arms and their return to the position shown by the full lines in Fig. 1 of thedrawing. f

\ It is .to be noted further that rewinding of the cable starts on the smallest diameter, that is, that of the standard, at. a time when the swing has its maximum momentum, which momentum is gradually diminished until the moving parts are again momentarily at rest. It is' of course to be understood that during the time of rewinding the cable on the standard, the riders will again move the lever arms 55 pivotally relatively to the cross bar 35 at the proper time, in the manner first above set forth.

It may be noted that several devices of the kind herein shown and described havebeen tried out in actual operation, and it has'been found easily possible to maintain continuous cyclic operation thereof for as long a time as desired by. the players or riders. The spiralswing never attains enough speed to be dangerous, since it comes to a momentary full stop at the top of its vertical travel. Its maximum rotative speed is attained at the instant when it reaches, the bottom point of itsvertical travel, this speed having been found sufficient to cause full rewinding of the cable on the standard. The amount of effort required by the riders is notexcessive, and in general the weight of the riders is in proportion to the muscular strength exertable by the riders to maintain the device in motion. The-action of the device embodying my invention is snappy and calls into action the muscles of the arms, legs, and back. I

'While I have shown a cross bar in the form of a plank, I do not wish to be restricted thereto as this will seat two riders only. It is obvious that the cross bar 35 may bemade in the form of a member of star shape, or of 5 circular shape,

whereby a larger number of riders may be accommodated at any one time.

Various modifications may be made in the device embodying my invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and I desire therefore that only such limitations shall be placed thereon as are imposed by the prior art or are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a spiral swing, the combination with a base, a vertical standard thereon, a platform slidable and rotatable on the standard, vertically ex tending lever arms pivoted intermediate their ends to the platform adjacent the ends thereof, a cable having its mid-portion secured to the top of the standard and its ends secured to pointson the respective lever arms intermediate their ends and above the platform, and means on the respective lever arms to effect manual actuationthereof at points both below and above the platform.

2. In a spiral swing, the combination with a base, a vertical standard thereon, a platform slidable and rotatable thereon, vertically extending lever arms pivoted intermediate their ends to the platform adjacent the two ends thereof, a cable having its mid-portion secured to the top of the standard and its ends secured to points on the respective lever arms above the platform and means on the respective lever arms to effect manual actuation thereof to increase the potential energy stored in the platform.

3. In a spiral swing, the combination with a base, a vertical standard thereon, a platform slidable and rotatable on the standard, vertically extending lever arms pivoted intermediate their ends to the platform adjacent the two ends thereof, a cable having its midr-portionsecured to the top of the standard and its ends secured to points on the respective lever arms above the platform and means on the respective lever arms to effect operation thereof by riders on the platform to increase the potential energy stored in the rotatable platform at a certain position thereof on the standard. I

4. In a spiral swing, the combination with a base, a vertical standard thereon, a platform slidable and rotatable on the standard, ropes having their upper ends secured to the top of the standard and means connecting the lower ends of the ropes to the platform manually operable to increase the amount of potential energy stored in the platform.

5. In a spiral swing, the combination with a base, a vertical standard thereon, a platform slidable and rotatable thereon, seats for riders on the platform adjustably secured to the platform at the respective ends thereof, lever arms pivotally secured to the platform intermediate their ends, a cable having its mid-portion secured to the top of the standard and its ends secured to the lever arms and means for manual actuation of the lever arms including a foot bar at the lower end of each lever arm and a hand rope at the upper end thereof whereby the potential energy of the platform is increasable by the riders on the platform in timed synchronism with its cyclic movements to maintain the platform in continuous operation.

6. In a spiral swing, the combination with a base, a standard thereon, a platform slidable and rotatable on the standard, a cable having its midportion secured to the top of the standard and its ends operatively secured to the platform adjacent the ends thereof and adapted to be wound around the standard as the platform rotates therearound and a cone shaped member encircling the standard to receive a part of the woundup cable on its surface.

'7. In a spiral swing, the combination with a base, a standard thereon, a platform slidable and rotatable on the standard, a plurality of cables having their upper ends secured to the top of the standard and their lower ends operatively secured to the platform adjacent the ends thereof and adapted to be wound around the standard as the platform rotates and cause a predetermined vertical sliding movement of the platform relatively to the standard for each complete turn of the platform around the standard and means on the standard below the upper end thereof to vary the amount of vertical sliding movement of the platform on the standard per complete turn thereof.

8. In 'aspiral swing, the combination with a base, a vertical standard thereon, a platform slidable and rotatable on the standard, a cable having its mid-portion secured to the top of the standard and its ends operatively secured to the platform adjacent to the ends thereof and adapted to Wind a predetermined amount of cable on the standard per complete turn therearound and means on the standard to increase the amount of cable wound around the standard per complete turn of the cable thereon upon the termination of the winding of a predetermined amount of cable on said standard.

9. In a spiral swing, the combination with a base, a vertical standard thereon, a platform slidable and rotatable on the standard, vertically extending lever arms pivoted intermediate their ends to the platform adjacent the ends thereof, a cable having its mid-portion secured to the top of the standard and its ends secured to the respective lever arms intermediate their ends and above the platform and adapted to be Wound around the standard as the platform rotates and a cone encircling the standard and of larger diameter than the standard to receive a part of the woundup cable.

10. In a spiral swing, the combination witha base, a vertical standard thereon, a platform slidable and rotatable on the standard, a cable having its mid-portion secured to the top of the standard and its ends operatively secured to the platform adjacent to the ends thereof and adapted to wind a predetermined amount of cable on the standard at a. predetermined rate per complete turn therearound and means on the standard to increase the amount of cable wound around the standard per complete turn of the cable thereon upon the termination of the winding of a predetermined amount of cable on the standard.

11. In a spiral swing, the combination with a base, a vertical standard thereon, a platform slidable and rotatable on the standard, a cable having its mid-portion secured to the top of the standard and its ends operatively secured to the platform adjacent to the ends thereof and adapted to wind a predetermined amount of cable on the standard per complete turn therearound and means on the standard to progressively increase the amount of cable wound around the standard per complete turn of the cable thereon upon the termination of the winding of a predetermined amount of cable on the standard.

' CLARENCE K. HARRIS. 

